As for me..

¹⁴ "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵ But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."¹⁶ Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! ¹⁷ It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.¹⁸ And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God."¹⁹ Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you." Joshua 24:14-20 (NIV)

The covenant between God and His people was being reestablished when Joshua uttered these words. The Israelites have been given the law, they know the law, and clearly have not been keeping it perfectly. I love his opening statement, FEAR the Lord and serve him faithfully. The people of Israel always end up following other idols, these containable "gods". He reminds the people first of the awesomeness of Yahweh, that He is deserving of our fear. Then he urges the people to either choose God fully or just deny Him totally! Joshua boldly calls out a whole nation. And then he publicly declares his choice is God, and not only him, but his whole house and family. And of course, like anyone who was just challenged to this extent, the Israelites say that they do choose God, claiming they know that it would be wrong to not choose Him. But then again Joshua puts them in their place, harshly, but yet appropriately. He bluntly states that we as humans cannot serve God in ourselves. He says God is Holy, God is jealous, and that God does not tolerate an unfaithful heart. But then, Joshua does something incredible; he reminds the people that God is GOOD. He says that God is good to His people, and that God has been, and will be good. So all in all God DESERVES our faithfulness, but just like Joshua said, echoing the words of Moses in Deuteronomy, it is a day of choice! Choose God, choose Him fully. Don't play the risky game of walking on the fence.

Ps 119 is full of the love of God's law. That is what I am trying to say. God is a God of grace and love, but He is also a God of standards and expectations. We have no right to define what is right and wrong, God is the Lord not you. Submit your heart to Him, or reject Him. It is time that a people rise up who take seriously the call to holiness. I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of seeing half hearted Christianity hiding behind the abusing of God's grace, even within my own soul. God never said anything about an easy life, but He did promise life to the full.

Again I say it is a day of decision. Choose life or death, blessing or curse. But choose fully, ready to accept ALL of who God is, not just the parts that suit your life.